Fiesta Time: Tropical Tres Leche

I have heard of Tres Leche cake, but have never ordered it at a restaurant. A few months ago I tried a recipe that I found on a blog that was a shortcut version using a cake mix. It was not very good. So you might wonder why I was anxious to make this for our fiesta. I took J-bird to a cooking class at Thanksgiving Point for her birthday and we tried this delicious treat. It does not take long to make even though you are making the cake from scratch. It does need time for the milk to soak in and will last for several days in the refrigerator.

My favorite quote from my husband "This is as good as any dessert you have ever made"

Cake

1 1/2 c. flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 c. unsalted butter

1 c. white sugar

5 eggs

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour one 9 x 13 pan. (I use the pam spray with flour in it). Sift flour and baking powder together and set aside. Cream butter or margarine and the sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add the flour mixture a little at a time; mix until well blended. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Pierce cake several times with a fork.

Tres Leche

1 1/2 c. whole milk (in the class she used cream--I used the fat free half and half that was in my fridge)

1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz.)

1 can evaporated milk (12 oz)

Combine the whole milk, condensed milk, and evaporated milk together. Pour over the top of the cooled cake.

Topping

1 1/2 c. heavy whipping cream

1 c. white sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Whip whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla together until thick. Spread over the top of the cake. Be sure and keep cake refrigerated, enjoy! Top with fruit or let guests top their own.

Fruit cut up such as: strawberries, kiwi, pineapple, mango, mandarin oranges, toasted coconut

Sunshine Cake

If you like pineapple, then you will love this cake--and so easy to make. This could be something you could stock the ingredients for in your food storage. (there are powdered eggs and a powdered dairy topping that would work)

1 box yellow cake mix

1 small box instant vanilla pudding

1 (11 ounce) can mandarin oranges, undrained

1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained

I used a bigger can and used half for the cake and half for the topping (I think it was 20 oz.)

2 large eggs

Vanilla pineapple topping (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 baking pan with nonstick baking spray with flour.

In a large bowl, combine cake mix and pudding mix. Add oranges, pineapple, and eggs; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until combined. Pour into prepared pan, and bake for 40 minutes. Let cool completely.

Spread vanilla pineapple topping evenly over cake. Garnish with mandarin oranges, if desired. Store in refrigerator.

Vanilla Pineapple Topping

1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple undrained

1 small box instant vanilla pudding

1 (12 ounce) container frozen nondairy whipped topping, thawed

In a medium bowl, combine pineapple and pudding mix, stirring well. Stir in whipped topping. Spread on cooled cake

Death by Chocolate Cake

This is probably a recipe that is familiar to a lot of people but with a name like that, who can resist. I got this recipe from one of my nieces, but since we haven't talked any of the nieces into posting recipes, I guess I'll have to get credit for it. I had to bring a cake for the Blue and Gold banquet and decided to take this. As you can see, I heated my glaze a little too long which left quite a puddle. (the better to scoop up later) This would be a great for a college girl to take to an apartment of cute boys!

1 c. sour cream

4 eggs

1/2 c. water

1/2 c. oil

1 pkg. chocolate cake mix

1 small pkg. instant chocolate pudding

1-2 c. semi sweet chocolate chips

1 container of chocolate frosting

Spray a Bundt pan with non-stick spray (I like the one with flour in it for this) and preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together sour cream, eggs, water and oil until well blended. Add cake mix and pudding and mix well. Fold in chocolate chips.

Bake for 50-60 minutes. Invert on a plate to cool

Heat frosting in the microwave until pourable. (make sure you take off the tin foil first) Glaze your cake and get a cold glass of milk ready. With all that chocolate, you're going to need it.